1 Corinthians 1:28 Meaning and Explanation
“And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →The cross overturns the world's ranking system. God works through those society calls insignificant or disposable, making supposedly established power lose its claim to ultimacy and creating a reconciled community whose shared dignity rests securely in Christ rather than prestige.
God deliberately chooses people and things society treats as low, despised, or nonexistent in order to reduce established claims of importance to nothing and end human boasting.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 1:28
First Corinthians opens by addressing divisions among believers who align themselves with favored leaders. Paul turns attention to Christ's cross, which empties worldly status and rhetorical competition of saving power. The message of the cross appears foolish to those perishing while revealing God's power to those being saved. Paul contrasts divine wisdom with human systems that failed to know God and recalls the Corinthians' own calling: few were considered wise by worldly standards, powerful, or noble. God chose things labeled foolish to shame the wise and weak things to shame the strong. Verse 28 adds lowborn, despised, and socially nonexistent things chosen to bring established things to nothing. Verse 29 gives the purpose: no flesh can boast before God. Verses 30 and 31 identify Christ as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so boasting belongs in the Lord.
What Does 1 Corinthians 1:28 Mean?
'Base things' refers to what lacks respected birth or status, while 'things which are despised' names those dominant society evaluates with contempt. 'Things which are not' can describe people treated as nonentities, without recognized standing or influence. God sees, chooses, and gives meaningful vocation to those the social order writes out of importance. Their divine choosing exposes that status systems are inventions rather than final truth. People called nothing become witnesses through whom supposedly permanent power is brought to nothing.
Paul's reversal does not romanticize poverty, disability, exclusion, or abuse, and it gives leaders no excuse for denying education or skilled preparation. God opposes the boasting attached to wisdom and might after the flesh; He also gives gifts of knowledge, teaching, administration, and discernment for service. The issue is whose wisdom rules and whom it benefits. The cross unmasks expertise used for domination while welcoming every true gift under Christ, where educated and uneducated people alike receive rather than manufacture righteousness and redemption.
Jesus Himself is publicly shamed and treated as disposable at the cross, yet God makes that rejected Messiah the center of salvation. In Him, communities can resist celebrity culture and discover gifts among people denied platforms. Choosing the despised is more than inspirational representation. It changes whose testimony is believed, whose safety matters, who meaningfully shares real authority, and how resources move. The goal remains God's glory rather than a new competition in which marginalization becomes another badge for boasting.
Bible Verses Related to 1 Corinthians 1:28
“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
- 1 Samuel 16:7
“He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;”
- Psalm 113:7
“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”
- Matthew 11:25
“Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”
- James 2:5
Where 1 Corinthians 1:28 Echoes in Scripture
First Samuel 16:7 says the LORD does not evaluate as humans do, because people look at outward appearance while the LORD sees the heart. David's overlooked place and Corinth's despised members both expose the deep limits and moral danger of status-based judgment.
How to Apply 1 Corinthians 1:28 Today
Review who receives attention, development, compensation, and decision-making authority. Seek gifts among people excluded by class, disability, education, race, age, incarceration history, or lack of connections, and remove access barriers without turning anyone into a token. Value training while testing whether expertise serves others or protects status. Leaders should create safe ways for overlooked members to challenge decisions. Give Christ credit for every gift and refuse both elite boasting and reverse pride built around appearing humble.
Reflection & Prayer
Whom have our habits treated as socially nonexistent even though God sees, chooses, and equips them? Pray: Christ our wisdom, dismantle our boasting, honor the despised, purify every gift, and build a community where Your choosing shapes our regard. Amen.